For the victims, it’s about justice.

For the Roman Catholic Church leadership, it’s about healing.

For judges and juries, it’s about punishment, including millions of dollars.

Continuing revelations that some Roman Catholic priests have been accused of sexually abusing minors and later returned to parish ministry have rocked Maine’s 300,000-member Catholic community. Compounding the problem: acknowledgement that Catholic leaders knew of the abuse, but transferred priests after treatment.

The issue has raised serious questions for all parents and participants in other religious groups as well.

How safe are children? What can be done to prevent abuse? What should be done when private authorities abuse their power over minors, who enjoy special protection under the law?

The problem isn’t new. In March 1993, for example, three Roman Catholic priests in Maine were publicly accused of sexual abuse of minors.

But the issue has exploded since last month’s trial in neighboring Massachusetts, where 130 people have said they were abused by the then-Rev. John Geoghan, who has been convicted in one criminal case and faces other charges.

Two weeks ago, the leader of Catholics in Maine, Bishop Joseph J. Gerry, announced that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, which comprises all of Maine’s parishes, would identify active priests accused of sexual abuse.

This week, the diocese announced it would turn over to a prosecutor the names of all priests or former priests who were accused of molesting children

“What’s happening in Boston has raised the stakes and forced everybody to re-examine everything possible,” said Monsignor Marc Caron, co-chancellor of the diocese in Maine.

But critics and neutral observers say the problem is far from resolved:

. David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said turning over names isn’t enough. “For years SNAP has been saying: ‘Focus on prevention.’ The church focuses on abuse once it happens.”

. An expert on sexual abuse in churches, Dayl Hufford of the New England Pastoral Institute, said evidence suggests there is no relationship between the mandatory celibacy of Roman Catholic priests and sexual abuse of minors.

Instead, key predictors of pedophilia are isolation and lack of accountability – elements in place in many of Maine’s churches of all types.

. And Dr. Lawrence Ricci, director of a child abuse program with offices in Bangor and Portland, said the more authority an abuser has – clergy rank high on this list – the less likely a child will report any abuse by a priest or minister. “They are revered. It’s like telling on God,” Ricci said.

Caron said the decision this week to release all the files was prompted by comments by Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson about the need to know whether former priests pose a threat to the community.

The diocese had been informing authorities of all instances of accusations of abuse since 1997, when it was required to do so by law. He said opening the files was an expansion of that policy.

“We have been concerned all along about reporting to civilian authorities,” Caron said. But the events in Boston pushed the matter to the forefront. “That’s why we have adopted this policy of full disclosure.”

Caron said that although the diocese is still reviewing its files, he expects instances of allegations against former or retired priests will be discovered. “I suspect there will be some, that we will have a subset of cases.”

Though Gerry earlier this month had willingly released the names of two active parish priests who had been sexually involved with boys years ago, the diocese had delayed releasing the names of those priests who were accused in the past, whether they are still ministering, inactive or retired. The two active priests, the Revs. Michael Doucette and John Audibert, minister in parishes in Aroostook County.

“We believed we were protecting the public, and that’s why we released the two names,” said Sue Bernard, spokeswoman for the diocese.

The bishop’s decision was announced after a meeting that took place earlier that day between church officials and the district attorney. During the meeting, Anderson had requested the names of all living former and nonactive priests ever accused of sexual misconduct.

“We thought we could do all we could to protect the public by releasing the names of active priests. When she said she wanted the names of the retired or former priests, we agreed,” Bernard said.

There are more than 200 retired or inactive priests under the auspices of the diocese, and there are 138 active priests ministering at Maine parishes, Bernard said. She said the diocese keeps personnel files on all its priests and that all files containing allegations of sexual misconduct would be turned over to Anderson within the next few weeks.

Bernard said Anderson would act as “a clearinghouse” for the entire state. She said Anderson and her investigators would review the files to determine which priests, if any, may be subject to investigation.

Anderson said Thursday that the church arranged the meeting after learning that she felt more information on the background of parish priests was necessary.

She said the state’s laws on child abuse should apply to all and that priests, even if they are retired, should be investigated if allegations were made.

“I think that former priests should be disclosed because the Boy Scouts should have the same protection as altar boys,” Anderson said. “I asked them for files on all priests except those that are dead.”

Clohessy, executive director of the St. Louis-based SNAP, said he was encouraged by the diocese’s decision to turn over the names. But he believes it was a decision made “grudgingly” and only after “great public pressure.”

He said his organization has 3,500 members and has long asked the Roman Catholic Church to do more. He charged that church authorities, rather than being open, continue to attempt to control the situation.

“Tinkering around the edges does not solve the problem,” he said. Opening files would satisfy the needs of what he described as the “now, finally” people, but not the “if only” people.

“The ‘now, finally’ people will be saying the church has finally done something, while the ‘if only’ people will be saying, ‘If only women could become priests and priests could marry,” he said.

But Clohessy said the church could exhibit a better understanding of the situation if it instituted major reforms in its teaching methods with regard to children. He said churches should use Safe Touch programs that teach the appropriateness of who is touching and what places on the body are permitted to be touched.

For decades, church leaders apparently viewed pedophilia as a sin to be forgiven and healed rather than a crime against its very teaching. Accused priests were usually removed from their parishes and ordered to desert retreats for prayer and contemplation. Excuses were made to parishioners and another pastor was assigned. The image of the kind father remained, and the criminal escaped.

“It is a sign of the times,” Bernard said. “People never used to come forward. Victims are feeling strong and feeling empowered, which is a good thing.”

The church began to reassess its policy in 1993 after a number of adult men revealed that they had been molested by their parish priest years before. The Maine Legislature passed laws in 1997 requiring that any allegations of child abuse be reported to authorities. And finally, the state dropped its statute of limitations on sexual abuse crimes against minors.

Besides the violence to victims and the spiritual pains within church communities, instances of pedophile priests have cost the diocese money.

The Portland diocese has insurance to cover its legal settlements.

Bernard confirmed that the Portland diocese has agreed in the past to financial settlements with victims of priests. But she declined to reveal the amount of the awards or how much the church had paid out over the years.

According to reports, the Diocese of Boston has paid more than $10 million to the victims of a single priest and acknowledged other settlements as well. Nationwide, according to Mark Chopko, general counsel for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, more than $200 million has been paid out in jury awards and settlements. In a few cases, the payments have temporarily bankrupted entire dioceses.

William Ryan, a spokesman for the Conference, acknowledged that settlements have been extensive. He insisted, however, that the decision to open church files was not being driven by fear of lawsuits or losses. He said the decisions are made by individual bishops and done to shed light on the matter.

“I don’t think the church is acting because of financial concerns,” Ryan said. “I think opening up the files is a matter of prudential judgment.”

Anderson, the district attorney, speculated that prosecution of current or former priests may be difficult in some cases. She said that while there may be victims who notified the church in confidence of a priest’s behavior, they may be less willing to participate in a public trial.

“Men have a much harder time coming forward than women do,” Anderson said. “I’m sure we will find cases where the victims said, ‘Just make him go away’ and did nothing further. I imagine the bulk of the cases will fit into that category.”

Bernard said the diocese has faith in Anderson’s judgment. She said it will be left up to the prosecutor to decide whether prosecution is necessary and if the disclosure of names is necessary for the safety of the public.

“We don’t think there are going to be a great number of priests prosecuted,” she said. “If there are names and if there are victims that need to be taken care of, then we want to do this, absolutely. [Anderson] knows what the legal standards are. She may have to protect the innocent. She understands that obligation and we’re quite sure she will do what’s needed.”

NEWS reporters Roxanne Moore Saucier, Tom Groening and Misty Edgecomb contributed to this report.